Tough Questions

Great Speech by Obama tonight explaining his thoughts on national security. Guantanamo is where the rubber hits the road for the democratic Atlantic left though. The long-term goal is to avert the development of empire, and empire is not some straw man as any reading of Cheney's speeches reveals. The reality is that the US is the necessary nation and some key decisions about the international order come down to the US. Appealing to international institutions or international law as the legitimate context for resolving prisoner problems in the war with Al-Quaida is just irresponsible. That conflict defines international society but is also a legitimate US interest. So it is hard to see that Obama had any other option but to appeal to the principles of the founding documents and the operation of the US legal system as a guide to sorting out the "mess"he inherited. The long-term problem is that he made no space at all for any kind of internationalism, so if there is another successful attack we may end up going around the same cycle. As I've said before though, if we want an internationalist as US President we need to give him a win. Al-Quaida in Mountjoy?